Lorenz speaking before the premiere of Habanera Science by the Dali Quartet Festival's Pre-College Orchestra

As Composer-in-Residence of the 9th Annual Dali Quartet Chamber Music Festival and Camp, Ricardo Lorenz spent several days this past summer 2012 in North Wales, Pennsylvania, working on two of his works with some of the East Coast’s most talented young string players. Lorenz conducted his Rochela for nine cellos, originally composed for and premiered by the cello section of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and attended the premiere of a new string orchestra work composed especially for the Festival’s pre-college orchestra. Titled Habanera Science, the work is conceived as a response to the news that the data collected from the recently discovered Higgs Boson particle, when fed into a computer, allegedly sounds like a habanera. As he told the audience before the August 12th concert led by guest conductor Eddy Marcano, “after spending years studying Cuban music, and after a recent month-long stay in Havana, I can assure you that habaneras cannot arise from data fed into a computer. Habaneras are born out of deep and profound longing for not only the city of Havana but, more significantly, its people and its culture.”

Dali Quartet members with Lorenz and other Festival faculty

The 9th Dali Quartet Festival and Camp brought together some of the finest up-and-coming string players for a week of chamber music coaching, workshops, rehearsing, and concerts. The faculty included the members of the Dali String Quartet, NYC Ballet Concertmaster Kurt Nikkanen, conductor and violinist Eddie Marcano, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Netanel Draiblate, and Ricardo Lorenz among others.